


foreboding

by chapter_61



Series: COC 2019 [5]
Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Carry On Countdown (Simon Snow), Carry On Countdown 2019, Day 5: Carry On Prequel, Gen, NOV 29 - Carry On Prequel, Pre-Book 1: Carry On, Pre-Book: Carry On
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:54:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21606376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chapter_61/pseuds/chapter_61
Summary: These kids are going to be the death of me. I really expected better of Fiona, but I should’ve predicted this when she dyed that white streak in her hair. I’ve told her she looks like a skunk, but her sister’s opinion doesn’t matter to her.All that matters is the opinion of her friends.The Petty twins.Those kids are nothing but trouble. They’ve got the brains and the power to execute their ridiculous ideas. And there’s nothing I can do except for giving them a lecture and detention.Every time, I think: now they’ve learned, now they’ll behave. But a week later, it’s more of the same. They’ve caught a merwolf and released it in the hallway, they went on a rampage in the Wavering Wood doing Morgana knows what, they angered a unicorn and almost got a student impaled… The list goes on and on.And now, I’m hearing vampire talk between my students. There’s only one group those talks could’ve originated from.
Relationships: Ebeneza "Ebb" Petty & Nicodemus Petty
Series: COC 2019 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1553623
Kudos: 13
Collections: Carry On Countdown 2019





	foreboding

These kids are going to be the death of me. I really expected better of Fiona, but I should’ve predicted this when she dyed that white streak in her hair. I’ve told her she looks like a skunk, but her sister’s opinion doesn’t matter to her.

All that matters is the opinion of her friends.

The Petty twins.

Those kids are nothing but trouble. They’ve got the brains _and_ the power to execute their ridiculous ideas. And there’s nothing I can do except for giving them a lecture and detention.

Every time, I think: now they’ve learned, now they’ll behave. But a week later, it’s more of the same. They’ve caught a merwolf and released it in the hallway, they went on a rampage in the Wavering Wood doing Morgana knows what, they angered a unicorn and almost got a student impaled… The list goes on and on.

And now, I’m hearing vampire talk between my students. There’s only one group those talks could’ve originated from.

“Headmistress?”

I stop pacing and turn towards the door to my office. It’s Thibaut, my assistant.

“Yes?”

“They’re here,” he says, looking like he’d rather announce the presence of a rogue dragon.

I walk over to my desk and lean against it. Then I nod. “Let them in.”

Thibaut nods back and opens the door. Two girls and a boy walk in. Fiona looks pissed off, she’s wearing wide trousers and a short top with loose sleeves. It looks awful, but she makes it work. Ebeneza doesn’t look too bothered, with a warm sweater and a long skirt in earth tones. Out of the three of them, I like her the most. If it weren’t for her trouble-making twin, she’d actually be a good student. Her other half, Nicodemus, has a smirk on his face that a lot of teenage boys like to show, but they wouldn’t dare show it to me. Of course, Nicodemus is an exception. He’s wearing all black.

My assistant exits and leaves me alone with the three. I cross my arms and break the silence.

“I think you three have seen my office more than my assistant by now.”

No answer. Fiona refuses to make eye contact with me (as usual), Ebeneza has her full attention pointed at my bookshelf (as usual), and Nicodemus loves nothing more than staring at me with that crooked grin.

I could really go for a sour cherry scone right now.

I sigh. Straight to the point then. “Rumour has it that you have been talking to some vampires.”

Nicodemus answers. “Is that against the law?”

“You know as well as I do that it isn’t, but mages don’t associate with vampires for a reason. I don’t want any of my students getting hurt.”

Fiona rolls her eyes at that, and Nicodemus snorts. “We’re not going to get hurt,” he says. “In fact, it’s the opposite. We’re going to get stronger.”

I stare at him in confusion. He can’t be saying that… I look at Fiona for confirmation but she’s still evading my eyes.

“What could you possibly mean by that?”

Fiona finally opens her mouth. “It’s nothing, Natasha.”

Nicodemus disagrees. “It’s not nothing. We’re going to become vampires. We’ll be unstoppable, the most powerful mages to exist!” He’s gesturing wildly. “Think about it, we’ll be the best defence Watford has ever known!”

I frown at the group. Fiona doesn’t seem to agree with him, but I’m not sure about Ebeneza.

I ask her. “Ebeneza, what are your thoughts?”

She says, “I don’t know, headmistress. I already have more magic than I need, to be frank. But Nicky seems really passionate about it.”

“Passionate?” Nicodemus huffs. “I’m just worried about Watford’s security problem.”

“There’s no need for you to worry about Watford’s security, leave that up to me. And since when do you care about this school? All you’re ever doing is making messes that I have to clean up.”

Like every teenager being told they’re a nuisance, he rolls his eyes.

“You do know,” I remind him, “that vampires aren’t allowed at Watford, mage or not. If you do become a vampire, which I strongly advise you not to do, you will be expelled and you won’t be allowed on the school grounds ever again.” I look toward Ebeneza and back to Nicodemus. “Not even to see your sister.”

I’ve hit a nerve. He and his sister are exchanging looks.

Fiona speaks up. “It’s not even that serious, it was just a joke.”

“She’s right,” Ebeneza says. “We weren’t seriously considering it, we were just spreading those rumours for fun.” She pokes her brother. “Right, Nicky?”

He looks at me for a long moment, his smirk long gone and his look dead serious. Then, he smiles and his eyes change back to normal. “Yeah. Vampires suck, anyway.”

It makes Ebeneza and Fiona laugh, and I’m glad for it.

“Dismissed,” I tell them, and they leave, shoving and laughing at each other.

The door closes with a loud bang, and then my office is filled with silence. I feel a little off-centre and sit down in my chair. I grab my notepad, pick up a pen and write something down. Then I rip the note off and put it in my drawer.

_Keep an eye out for the vampires_ , it says.


End file.
